Hour 1: Mets Turning Around?

Summary

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Don, Hahn & Rosenberg – Hour 1: Mets Turning Around?

Date: August 26, 2025
Hosts: Don La Greca, Alan Hahn, Peter Rosenberg
Main Theme:
Are the New York Mets finally turning a corner after a critical win against the Phillies? The hour dives deep into the Mets’ prospective turnaround, bullpen challenges, starting pitching woes, and how organizational decisions impact playoff hopes. The hosts contrast the Mets’ situation with the Yankees, debate strategy, and react to breaking news on Mets prospects.

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Episode Overview

The panel opens by pondering if the Mets’ latest win is a real sign of turnaround or just a fleeting spark. Is Mark Vientos key to revitalizing the offense? Can the Mets survive with such tenuous starting pitching? The show features passionate, candid analysis, sharp stats, on-the-fly banter, and listener calls that reflect the anxiety and hopes of Mets fans as crunch time approaches.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Mets-Phillies Recap: Is This a Turning Point?

[00:56–02:58]

• Don’s Optimism:
  Don opens with hope that the Mets’ performance against the Phillies could be a turning point, referencing their past dominance at Citi Field and drawing a parallel to the 2007 collapse (in reverse):

  “If you had to play them in the playoffs after what happened last year, why would you say that they can’t win?” (Don, [01:28])

• Vientos Ignites Offense:
  Mark Vientos’ recent hot streak and timely hits have renewed hope:

  “Vientos is 12 for 31 over the last eight games. ...when you’re going, you get a break like that, because that should have probably been a playable ground ball.” (Rosenberg, [02:58])

• Hitting with Runners in Scoring Position:
  Don points out the offense is waking up, now hitting in clutch spots, which had been their Achilles’ heel.

2. Hidden Factors: Bullpen & Parabolic Mic Drama

[03:37–06:35]

• Bullpen Steps Up:
  Rosenberg lauds the bullpen for five shutout innings, a rare feat for a unit he calls unreliable.

• Alec Bohm & ‘Parabolic Mic Game’:
  The episode detours into the odd delay caused by Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm questioning a parabolic microphone at Citi Field:

  “...you caused a 19-minute delay on something that’s been there since at least 2017. ...What is the distraction? It’s been there since 2017. Stop it. Focus on your job.” (Don, [09:45])

  The delay was panned by NBC Sports Philly's postgame and became the butt of jokes:

  “This is going to be this year’s Grimace and all that. ...whatever’s going to turn it around.” (Don, [06:37])

• Hosts’ Frustration with MLB Communication:
  Don and Rosenberg vent about baseball’s inability to manage or communicate about in-game delays:

  “What does Major League Baseball do? It’s been there. ...Why does it take 19 minutes for anybody to realize it’s been there for a decade? What are we doing?” (Don, [10:16])

3. Pitching Concerns: Senga’s Struggles; Rotation in Flux

[06:45–18:04]

• Kodai Senga’s Woes:
  Senga failed to go deep (“93 pitches, four innings”), undermining his “ace” status and fueling rotation questions:

  “He just hasn’t been good. He just hasn’t been good.” (Don, [07:50])

• Difficult Outlook for October:
  If the playoffs started today, Senga would not start a wildcard game. Peterson and McClain lead the discussion as more trustworthy options.

• Mania’s Short Leash:
  Recap of Sean Manaea’s outings underscores a team unnerved by starting pitcher fatigue and lack of depth.

4. The Stress on the Bullpen

[18:04–20:18]

• With starters unable to provide length, the bullpen is being asked to get 12–15 outs nightly:

  “Having to get 15 outs out of your bullpen every night, that’s going to hurt you.” (Don, [17:37])

• Success like last night is welcomed but unsustainable if heavy bullpen use continues.

5. Playoff Math & the Hope for a Division Race

[21:09–22:45]

• Every win vs. the Phillies “keeps hope for the division alive.” If the Mets sweep, the division deficit can become a real chase with head-to-head games remaining.

6. Looking Ahead: Youth Movement & Rotation Debates

[31:38–33:18; 44:17–47:39]

• Promotion Watch: Jonah Tong & Brandon Sproat
  Breaking news: The Mets are promoting pitcher Jonah Tong, opening immediate questions about his playoff role.

  “The Athletic reporting that the Mets are promoting Jonah Tong. ...There’s your answer there.” (Rosenberg, [44:17])

• Should Top Pitching Prospects Start?
  Don argues for letting the kids start rather than bullpen cameos:

  “Wouldn’t you want these guys to get starts, not come out of the bullpen?” (Don, [46:22])

• Fan Excitement Over Prospects:
  Both hosts and fans recognize new blood can spark a team emotionally (“It does kind of stir the pot a little bit.” Rosenberg, [47:36])

7. Big Picture: The Mets’ Experiment & Fan Frustrations

[34:02–37:53]

• The rotation is a grand experiment—relying on unspectacular veterans and untested kids.
• The hosts debate the wisdom of refusing to spend big on free-agent pitchers in favor of organizational development.

  “The Mets are playing it way out here, experimentation, not spending a lot of money on pitchers.” (Don, [35:56])

• The “success or failure” of this approach won’t be clear for several years.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On the Parabolic Mic Delay (Bohm Incident):

• “You caused a 19-minute delay on something that’s been there since at least 2017.” (Don, [09:45])
• “This is the problem with baseball... It’s like three blind mice. ...Nobody knows anything.” (Don, [10:37])

On Senga’s Role Going Forward:

• “Kodai can’t start a playoff game for me. I can’t.” (Don, [16:22])
• “Not the way he’s pitching right now. ...There are jobs up for grabs right now in that Met starting rotation.” (Rosenberg, [16:35])

On Mets’ Playoff Hopes:

• “Every time you beat the Phillies, you’re keeping hopes of the division alive.” (Don, [21:15])

On Youth Movement Fundamentalism:

• “If [the young prospects] end up giving you five really good starts ... and if Senga continues to give you four or five innings of nothing, I’m sorry, McClain is going to have to get a start.” (Don, [17:34])

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Key Timestamps for Important Segments

• [01:07] Rosenberg: “That’s eight in a row now.” (Describing Phillies’ Citi Field futility)
• [02:58] Vientos stats and discussion
• [06:14] On Phillies’ postgame blowing up: “...they just destroyed the team, which I thought was amazing...”
• [07:09–08:23] Deep dive on Senga’s performance and future
• [09:45] NBC Philly analyst sound on parabolic mic delay
• [15:14] Playoff rotation hypotheticals
• [16:22] Don on Senga’s playoff viability
• [18:04] Bullpen exhaustion concern
• [21:15] Importance of beating Phillies for division hopes
• [31:38–32:55] On promoting Tong and managing the youth pipeline
• [44:17] BREAKING: “The Mets are promoting Jonah Tong.”

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Listener Calls & Fan Perspective Highlights

• Ted in the Truck ([26:45]): Blasts the Mets’ unimpressive pitching, says “the Mets aren’t good,” and mocks their approach. Don claps back comparing them to the Yankees.
• Reggie (Staten Island) ([28:03]): Defends Mania, blames the defense versus Washington.
• Bobby (Bellmore) ([30:25]): Pushes to try prospect Tong in the rotation.
• Mike (Long Island) ([33:18]): Critiques the Mets for “trying to catch lightning in a bottle” with their rotation.
• Spencer (Connecticut) ([49:02]): Asserts the rotation was always a gamble—hopes a mechanical change can help Mania.

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Final Takeaways

• Mets Offense Shows Life, but Pitching Remains a Crisis:
  Vientos and the bottom of the order are fueling hope, but starters can’t provide depth, and the bullpen has been stretched thin.

• Pitching Rotations a Moving Target:
  With Senga faltering, Mania unsteady, and youth beckoning, playoff success hinges on unproven arms—established roles are up for grabs in September.

• Front Office’s Approach Divides Fans:
  The ethos of patience (developing arms, avoiding expensive contracts) is debated—will it yield a long-term payoff or sabotage a potential near-term run?

• Parabolic Mic Delay Becomes a Running Gag:
  The bizarre in-game incident symbolizes the oddities of baseball—and galvanizes Mets fans in a season searching for symbolic turning points.

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In summary:
The hour is an essential listen for Mets fans — unfiltered, sharply analytical, and riding the emotional rollercoaster of playoff hope and angst. With youth movement news breaking and playoff math swirling, this could be a pivotal moment for the 2025 Mets.

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Transcript

[Don Hahn]

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[Rosenberg]

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[Don Hahn]

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[Rosenberg]

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[Don Hahn]

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[Caller]

Han, there's a lot of women out there that want you.

[Rosenberg]

Alan and Rosenberg, give me the porn.

[Don Hahn]

For God's sake. This isn't North Dakota. This is New York.

[Rosenberg]

This is Don, Han and Rosenberg.

[Don Hahn]

The best threesome I've ever heard on.

[Rosenberg]

880 ESPN and the ESPN New York.

[Don Hahn]

App 301 of the big city. Don Hahn and Rosenberg take it to 630.

[Rosenberg]

Then it's Mets, Phillies.

[Don Hahn]

Actually, as a Met fan, I look forward to taking on the Phillies because some. Something comes out of the Mets. They bring the best out of the Mets. The Phillies, for some reason, especially at Citi Field. Yeah.

[Rosenberg]

That's eight in a row now.

[Don Hahn]

It is. It's incredible. And last night it was just strange because Senga didn't have it, and that's an issue too. But the Yankees, you know, beat up on the Nationals, but. And we'll get into the Volpe of it all because I guess he'll be back in the lineup tonight. And that was by design. But is that the right thing to do considering how the Yankees have played since they took him out of the lineup. Beating the Red Sox, beating up on the Nationals last night. But I want to begin with the Mets. Allen, just because. Shows what can be in both the positive and the negative. And what I mean by that is the positive, like, hey, they. They own the Phillies at Citi Field and. And let's see what happens over the next couple of days. But if they get this down the four, you know, maybe we can see a reverse of what happened in 2007 when the Mets blew the seven game lead with 17 left to play. I don't think they're winning the division. But if you had to play them in the playoffs after what happened last year, why would you say that they can't win? And the bats came alive. And a very kind of secret under the radar thing when the, when the. In the 35 games or. What is it? That was 14 and 21, they were over that span. They actually hit like 360 with runners in scoring position, but they were losing games, so nobody cared. But now they're starting to hit with the runners in scoring position. And Mark Vientos can maybe be the catalyst for this. He was the catalyst in the postseason. He's getting hot now. So maybe there's something to this offense, Allen, and maybe Vientos turnaround is a reason for it. So I think there's some reason. I know it's just one game, but it's a big game that maybe there's a turnaround offensively that might be able to carry this team at least comfortably pass the Reds and maybe challenge the Phillies for this division.

[Rosenberg]

Yeah, The Viento is 12 for 31 over the last eight games. And that. Go ahead. RBI, the double that went down the line, third bay, that hit a rock or so. Like, when you're going, yeah, you get a break like that because that. That should have probably been a playable ground ball. He hit it hard. But once that hit that rock or something and it just made a weird skip, turned into an RBA RBI double. And then the Mets suddenly had the momentum back on their side after being down 3, not on. Didn't feel good. But I completely agree with you. The more important part about the fact that they are, you know, scoring, they are hitting with runners in scoring position is the fact that after Senga, you got five relievers to come into that game and shut out, shut them down. And that bullpen has not been good. It has not been reliable. So this is an important turn of events as well. But there was always. There's always, like, weird things that do happen that also catch your attention. And the Alex Bohm thing with the parabolic mics is a very bizarre story. Like, do you like. First of all, I don't think I've ever noticed them there, but Steve Gelbs was telling me that they have been there for a while.

[Don Hahn]

2017.

[Rosenberg]

Yeah, like, they have been there for, like, I was asking Gelbsy about it, and I just said, like, is this, like. Because first the. Gary, Keith and Ron thought it was Turner who's doing tonight's game and thought they put them in and left them there. What they didn't realize is those are. Those are Sny mics. Those are MLB mics.

[Don Hahn]

Yeah. When I was.

[Rosenberg]

They've been there.

[Don Hahn]

It's so funny.

[Rosenberg]

And for him to point that out and cause a delay, well, that blew up right in their face.

[Don Hahn]

It's so funny. Declan's over and Marco. They had fall baseball practice yesterday. So I'm listening to the game, driving home, and I stopped to check out the end of their practice, bring them home, got something to eat. They all wanted to watch the game in the living room. I don't have a seat between. You know, my wife's doing something on the computer. The kids all wanted to watch the game, so I sat in the kitchen and listened because I. There was no room in the living room. I wasn't gonna sit on the floor. Not with this bad knee.

[Rosenberg]

Can't bring a chair in.

[Don Hahn]

No. So I listen. I love Howie. Howie's my spirit animal.

[Rosenberg]

I told you that. Yeah.

[Don Hahn]

You know, and I think Keith Rad does a great job. So they're talking. So my kids are running in. They're delaying the game. They're delaying the game. And of course, I'm listening on the radio, which is way behind. They're told. They thought that it was. Because the games on TBS tonight. They thought it was something TBS had.

[Rosenberg]

Turned earlier to turn. Yeah.

[Don Hahn]

And they're like, well, isn't that gonna be up next tomorrow when the. When TBS does it? And we found out it's been there since 2017.

[Rosenberg]

Believe it.

[Don Hahn]

And I don't know if you saw it on social media. You know who tore them apart for it? The Phillies post game.

[Rosenberg]

I sent that to Anthony.

[Don Hahn]

It was incredible.

[Rosenberg]

Anthony, do we have that? I sent that to Anthony earlier today because I found that interesting as well as even their own post game.

[Don Hahn]

Yeah, they were ripping. And it made me. That's right. You said.

[Rosenberg]

Yelt sent that to me.

[Don Hahn]

It made me kind of want to watch the whole post game. And they just destroyed the team, which I thought was amazing, because you don't see that usually in a local broadcast. Killing Harper for the screwed up rundown with Soto.

[Rosenberg]

Very strange Harper game.

[Don Hahn]

Listen, I'm just telling you that fundamentals are not just a Yankee problem. They're a baseball problem. And Phillies did not put their best foot forward last night. And the Mets were able to take advantage of that, but they're killing them up and down. But specifically for that, it's like, what is the distraction? It's been there since 2017. Stop it. Focus on your job. And now, of course, Met fans are rallying.

[Rosenberg]

This.

[Don Hahn]

This is going to be this year's grimace and. And all that. I don't know. Whatever's going to turn it around.

[Rosenberg]

Parabolic mic game.

[Don Hahn]

But to throw a little cold water.

[Rosenberg]

On it, though, okay.

[Don Hahn]

As great as the win was, is Kodai Sanga just Doesn't have it, man. He just couldn't go more than he.

[Rosenberg]

Just can get out of the field.

[Don Hahn]

Doesn't have it now, if you want to say it's, you know, the injury or whatever.

[Rosenberg]

Four days rest.

[Don Hahn]

Barely saw him last year. You know, we, it's, it's a problem. Four days rest now. I guess if this is experiment, then he can't do it.

[Rosenberg]

Well, he gave up the run in the first inning. Remember your addiction was three nothing.

[Don Hahn]

And I was kind of joking about the whole three nothing.

[Rosenberg]

Right out of the box, gives up the run, the triple, the lead off triple. Right. But 93 pitches four innings, like that's a lot of work for him.

[Don Hahn]

Yeah, just he doesn't give you any length.

[Rosenberg]

No.

[Don Hahn]

Remember, he's supposed to be your ace. Peterson's technically your ace because he's been a better pitcher, but Senga's supposed to.

[Rosenberg]

Be the guy that's your ace.

[Don Hahn]

And you just wonder now if he can't go on four days rest. And we had the conversation yesterday about if they're trying to bring Sproat out of the bullpen. At what point do you say, you know what, we might be better off not having sang a part of the rotate. You keep hoping, but he's not giving you any innings. He just hasn't been good.

[Rosenberg]

Well, he's got to be a starter.

[Don Hahn]

For you because he's not going to help you come out of the bullpen as like the bad starts. So like if he was getting off the great starts, but he digs himself a hole and he usually will gut through because the previous outing he didn't have it either. But he still gave you five. He still gutted through and gave you a little more innings.

[Rosenberg]

It felt like he was gutting through this after the early, you know, like, like it felt like he was battling. But I just think Sanchez has been so good that the minute it was three nothing, it felt like I'm ready.

[Don Hahn]

To tear them a new one today. Like saying it's all good.

[Rosenberg]

Our group chat had a couple of good one liners from you. But the fact that he then. Because that's what I'm talking about, the weird things that can happen. So the parabolic mic thing, that didn't work to their advantage. But also when Sanchez slipped on the mound, like all of a sudden he was not right.

[Don Hahn]

No, he wasn't.

[Rosenberg]

He didn't look comfortable at all. He has been dominant lately.

[Don Hahn]

So the fact that that delay hurt him because remember he's sitting there in the dugout that was a 19 minute delay.

[Caller]

Right.

[Rosenberg]

But they had already scored the three runs. They like that was a fifth inning delay. Yeah. So they had already scored to. To come back into that game. So that, that little rally.

[Don Hahn]

But then he had, he had nothing coming back from that. And. And then so it's the 19 minute delay. And you know, and he just, he didn't have it. Now Castillo was on the mound, he threw one pitch after the delay, so you don't know if it was going to affect him at all. But he. One pitch, he got out of the inning, literally. And then he was out of the game right after that.

[Rosenberg]

So quick.

[Don Hahn]

So we do have the sound from NBC Sports. Philly ready. Bottleico, is the analyst talking about the delay. Let's talk about Alec Bohm over at third base. Yes. Okay. Alec had a good defensive game, but what really kind of got to me, you caused a 19 minute delay on.

[Rosenberg]

Something that's been there since at least 2017. We went back and checked that exact same thing has been there since 20.

[Don Hahn]

A parabolic microphone. Now, it's easy for me as a Met fan to blame the Phillies on themselves.

[Rosenberg]

Isn't it nice, though, to hear that other markets do this? Because in New York, we do it. And all of our networks do it. When the team doesn't play well, we let them happen.

[Don Hahn]

But outside of New York, it's not known to happen.

[Rosenberg]

So mad. Right. But it's good to hear that it does happen elsewhere.

[Don Hahn]

But here's the thing to defend the Phillies, all right? It bothered him. So you call attention to it. If it's been there since 2017, can somebody from Major League Baseball call down and say, no, it's not going anywhere. Like, why does, why does it take 19 minutes for anybody to realize it's been there for a decade? What are we doing?

[Caller]

Like, they're walking.

[Don Hahn]

This is the problem with baseball is it's like three blind mice. They're all walking. What is it? What do we do? Nobody knows anything. And this happens in other sports. It drives me crazy in the NHL where nobody lets anybody know what's going on.

[Rosenberg]

Right.

[Don Hahn]

I'll see a delay on the ice and me and Dave will be calling the game like we don't know what's going on. And then we have to go to Twitter 10 minutes later. Oh, the reason for that delay is with this or that. They never make an announcement to the crowd what they're checking, how many times they'll go to review. And the official will never tell you what they're reviewing. And Then they come back and say.

[Rosenberg]

The call, after review, it stand.

[Don Hahn]

What stand? You didn't tell us what it was.

[Rosenberg]

Right.

[Don Hahn]

But what does Major League Baseball do? It's been there. There's not an official 2017.

[Rosenberg]

There wasn't anybody there, though, because they had to send some guys out. You see how they got out. They had to climb over the railing, run down the batter's eye, and then disconnect it and just drop it on the ground. Like it was so unceremonious. Wasn't there anyone in the building that would just say that's been there? Like, this is not against the rules to have this.

[Don Hahn]

This is what drives me crazy about baseball. That game is being viewed in Chelsea, right?

[Rosenberg]

Oh, yeah, you're right.

[Don Hahn]

They have to watch everything. So somebody literally affiliated with MLB is being paid to watch this game. And then they see there's a delay. You get on the phone, you say, can somebody tell me what's going on? And then somebody in MLB going, what are they looking at that for? It's been there for a decade. Get back to work.

[Rosenberg]

It's part of the stadium. It's part of the ground rules. There's nothing wrong. Leave it.

[Don Hahn]

That's all.

[Rosenberg]

But he said they had to. Had to disconnect them and knock them down. It's.

[Don Hahn]

So now.

[Rosenberg]

Will they be back up tonight?

[Don Hahn]

Well, they have to be because they're supposed to be there.

[Caller]

Right.

[Rosenberg]

So the rest of that game, we didn't get any ambient sound unless they put it back.

[Don Hahn]

I don't know. But, you know, because the game got so out of hand, it didn't matter at that point.

[Rosenberg]

Yeah. But well, anyway, there was that. There was again, as I mentioned, there was. There was Sanchez slipping on the mound like he did not have a good outing, voting all the things that went the Mets way. The fact that Turens had a great game, five RBI, the big three run home. It kind of broke it open. McNeil was good. Bottom of the order for the Mets, which has also been a point of issue collectively. So this is six through nine in the order, 10 RBI now. So it's got 13 runs, and almost all of them came as a result of production from the bottom of the order. That's all the things that you. Your bullpen came in, locked it down, and the bottom of the order produced in a big game for the Mets to kind of say to themselves, we can stay in this thing. And to also stay in the heads of the Phillies. I think they've. Was it eight in a row. They've lost now at Citi Field.

[Don Hahn]

They. So that's. They're not, they're not intimidated by them at all. Which is, which is nice.

[Rosenberg]

Tonight you get Lizardo. He has been very good as well. His last outing against Seattle, 12 strikeouts, no walks against that Mariners lineup. So he was very good in his last lineup. He's actually been good of late. He had a really good start to the season. Fell off. But they really need him bad. Two lefties tonight, Mania for the Mets. So, you know, keep an eye on that. But, but you've already solved one pitcher who was going well. Can they get to Lozardo, who had a great outing? Like I said, his previous outing, he was almost unhittable.

[Don Hahn]

He was, you know, but we'll see. But here's the negative about saying, forget about. Like, what do they do with saying. Because right now, what is your rotation? Best of three.

[Rosenberg]

Well, after tonight you have mania. Then tomorrow is McClain again, right? I believe McLean's tomorrow.

[Don Hahn]

I guess he has to.

[Rosenberg]

I thought, I thought, I thought I saw him on the probables as tomorrow's starting pitcher. I mean, and mania hasn't been great against Walker.

[Don Hahn]

Former Matt.

[Rosenberg]

Right. Taiwan. So mania is somebody also that I think you, you have a big question mark because not anything more than the fact that he gets off to good starts and then he just hits a wall. He can't. And I know maybe it's part of the injury and his recovery from, from the injury and it's late in the season as he's trying to build himself up, but he gets to a fourth inning or second time through the order and you can see the fatigue kicks in. He's even admitted that it is something that he's dealing with and he doesn't know why.

[Don Hahn]

And so when you get to October.

[Rosenberg]

These can't be problems that still come up.

[Don Hahn]

So what do you do? Let's say you're able to put your rope.

[Rosenberg]

Peterson's your. Peterson's your guy.

[Don Hahn]

All right, so you're going to play the Padres or Dodgers in the first round. Let's say you don't win the division and you got to go through the wild card. Right? And even if you win the division, you're not going to have a top two record in the league. So you're probably going to have to play a best of three. Who is your starters if you're able to set it up? Peterson, Game one.

[Rosenberg]

Yes.

[Don Hahn]

Bang.

[Rosenberg]

I think for sure.

[Don Hahn]

And now you go to game two.

[Rosenberg]

It doesn't have to be Maniah. You can't you can. You really can give trust Sanga.

[Don Hahn]

No. Well, if. I'm just saying, if McLean is continues to pitch well, is he your game to start or do you just go but good again, you want to go lefty, righty, right. Do you want to do that stuff like. So the maniah becomes a free starter. The point is that there's a good. You're looking at Senga not being in the wild card round as a starting pitcher unless you're playing meaningful games at the end of the season. If you're setting your rotation, tell me how Kodai is going to pitch in the wild card round.

[Rosenberg]

Right now you can't.

[Don Hahn]

Can.

[Rosenberg]

Right now you can't.

[Don Hahn]

And Holmes isn't going to pitch there.

[Rosenberg]

So don't expect it.

[Don Hahn]

All right, so where does that leave you? Unless they call up sproat, you know, but now this is going back to the conversation yesterday is why isn't he? Especially if you want to give Senga that extra day's rest, why isn't he up here starting? And if he ends up pitching well in the last month, it gives you more options. Kodai can't start a playoff game for me. I can't.

[Rosenberg]

No, not the way he's pitching right now. And you know what, though? That's what makes it very interesting as you go into September, because I do think there are jobs up for grabs right now in that Met starting rotation, just like in the bullpen. I. Sir, come on. You know, you firmly believe that the roster is going to expand. You'll have the ability to call up a couple more arms. And I think it's. It's whoever's going. Is that who you go with? There is no one this season that has, other than Peterson, that has established themselves as a reliable go to starter. And McClain has given you a couple of outings that is making you curious and interested enough to see more.

[Don Hahn]

I just. It's.

[Rosenberg]

It's like Slitler. It's Slidler with the Yankees.

[Don Hahn]

Well, yeah, he looks to me he's.

[Rosenberg]

Got to be the guy after Radon. He might even be the guy before Radon.

[Don Hahn]

Yeah. Again, it's only been two starts, but he's going to probably get another three here. And if he ends up giving you five really good starts, you talk about.

[Rosenberg]

Who are you talking about?

[Don Hahn]

McClain.

[Rosenberg]

Oh, yeah, McClain for sure.

[Don Hahn]

But. And if Senga continues to give you four or five innings of nothing, I'm sorry, McClain is going to have to get a start now. The Mets won the game all Right, Senga, we figured that out. He's not going to start in a wild card round. But here's the negative. You had to go five deep into your bullpen. Now, you didn't have to pitch Diaz, which is fine, but you know, how much is Maniah going to give you tonight? So you keep going deep into your bullpen. Having to get 15 outs out of your bullpen every night, that's going to hurt you.

[Rosenberg]

So that's what I want to say.

[Don Hahn]

Listen, you won the game. Great. But if I get. It's another start in which you get no length out of your starting pitchers. So. And everybody gave you an inning. Right. All of the six pitchers that went last night all gave you an inning.

[Rosenberg]

I thought it was five, but it.

[Don Hahn]

Probably was Steele, Rogers, Rayleigh, Helsley and Stanek. So 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.

[Rosenberg]

6. Okay.

[Don Hahn]

Yeah.

[Rosenberg]

And no one gave up a run.

[Don Hahn]

Yeah, I mean, it's, it's. Oh, my God.

[Rosenberg]

What's the matter?

[Don Hahn]

That, that we are, you know, it ends up 1, 2, 3, 5. Yeah, you were right. Five. I can't count. But still, you used to have your bullpen.

[Rosenberg]

His mania like this is what I want to see out of him because the fatigue things are real deal and I want to see this year what he's like, how far he's been going since he's returned. So he has made eight starts. It would make his ninth. That's not good. Team's one in nine when he starts, one in seven when he starts. He's only. He's one and two because he hasn't had any decisions.

[Don Hahn]

But Zermer averages over five.

[Rosenberg]

But. All right, so let's go to like the last out. He. All right, so four and two thirds, five innings, four innings, five and two third, five, five, four. And then his first start was only three.

[Don Hahn]

And if he gives you five, but.

[Rosenberg]

You'Re asking for five and he's only done it twice in his last four starts.

[Don Hahn]

So at once in his last three, you would have to say, at minimum, your bullpen tonight, it's going to have.

[Rosenberg]

To get 12 outs and you just used five guys.

[Don Hahn]

Now, you didn't use Diaz. And if it ends up being a save situation, I mean, listen, this is what the Yankees think too, is it's not a problem if I go out there and score 13 runs. It doesn't matter. If you're going to count on that to be the case, then it's not going to be an issue tonight. I don't want to have to score 13 runs every night to save my bullpen and to win a foot and win a baseball game. And that's why it was so surprising they won because you said they got one of their best pitchers. It's three.

[Rosenberg]

Nothing felt like night night really did.

[Don Hahn]

And at three three, I'm not feeling great because again, I'm going to ask the bullpen to not allow a run against a really good offensive team. And they did a great job. But is that something to count on every single night?

[Rosenberg]

No, that's a good point. When it did, when it was when then the Angels had the go ahead rbi. Not the second one, but the first one he had. And now it was that almost like, all right, they got the lead. Like they come back from all the way back from down three nothing again and knock their starter out of the game. This is significant. And that's the next thought I had was, now can the bullpen hold this thing or is it going to look terrific job they did, but they also tacked on a lot of runs. That took the pressure off the bullpen. But still, that, that look. That's a good first win, Don, because now tonight sort of feels like, like you got to feel like tomorrow night start, you got to feel good about. You got to feel a really good chance tomorrow taking on the lefty tonight. This is the one. If you can get this, you got to feel. You got to start thinking about sweep.

[Don Hahn]

What every win against the Phillies does is keep your hope for the division alive.

[Rosenberg]

Yes.

[Don Hahn]

Because they came in seven out. Right. So you needed to sweep to get within four. So even a loss tonight, you get it. Then you know what, the division's over. Right. Like, it's just gonna feel like, like, so every time you win now, you get it to five. If you win tomorrow, you get it to four. Now you feel like, hey, I got a chance here to win this division. Every loss knocked you out of it. So that's where we're at. It's like far as I'm concerned now again, the mets blew a seven game lead with 17 left to play against Philly back in 2007. So anything is possible. But just to feel like every time you beat the Phillies, you're keeping hopes of the division alive. And that's why it's so important tonight.

[Rosenberg]

So you can get it to four and then still have four against them in Philly.

[Don Hahn]

Yeah.

[Rosenberg]

So you technically then could control your destiny. Technically.

[Don Hahn]

Technically. But again, it's. That's going to be a tough thing to do.

[Rosenberg]

Absolutely. But you're still in the. You're still in business.

[Don Hahn]

You still keep it alive.

[Rosenberg]

So how. All right, so reasonably for you, because it's funny how we look at our team so objectively. Like, you try to sell me on the idea that the Yankees and the schedule and the American League and. And I'm trying to sell you on. You might not see it, but I see it with the Met offense and if they can get some starting pitching, they can still be a problem in the postseason. Right. We both look at our teams differently, but did last night and the fact that they've won now six of the last nine. Does it feel like the worm's turning a little bit at all?

[Don Hahn]

Only because of Vientos, because of what he did in the postseason last year, because he's been kind of that missing link. Because there's been times he just didn't even look like he should be playing and now he's getting big hits. So now that makes you feel good. And the other thing, too, again, we feel like you got to compare it to the Yankees, but you're a Yankee guy, I'm a Met guy. Is that, you know, the Mets did it against the first place Phillies. Like, all right. It's a team that they do play well against, but it's not like they lost two out of three to the Nationals, which makes things so frustrating. But it's like that's a good team they beat and that's a good pitcher they hit.

[Rosenberg]

It's the same thing as if the Yankees had gotten three out of four against Boston. I'd be singing a different tune.

[Don Hahn]

That's why we'll talk about the Yankees in a bit. Yeah, but that's why, like, you don't care about last night.

[Rosenberg]

Last night did nothing because again, it's.

[Don Hahn]

The Nationals and the Yankees beat up bad teams. That's what the Yankees do. They bash the baseball, they take care of bad pitching and. But yet the bullpen still, you know, didn't look great. And the 10, nothing becomes 10. 5. Not that you felt like you were going to lose the game, but you know what I mean?

[Rosenberg]

I love it.

[Don Hahn]

Listen, the Yankees, it's gone to a point. It's like, all right, if you're going to just lose to the good teams and beat the. Beat the bad teams, then that's not really helping your confidence come playoff time when everybody facing the playoffs is going to be a good team. This is an ad by BetterHelp. These days it feels like there's a vice for everything. Cold plunges, gratitude journals, screen detoxes. But how do you know what actually works for you? With the Internet and information overload about mental health and wellness, it can be a struggle to know what's true and what actions to take. These days, using trusted resources and talking to live therapists can get you personalized recommendations and help to help you break through the noise. With over 30,000 therapists, better help is the world's largest online therapy platform, having served over 5 million people globally. And it works with an App store rating of 4.9 out of 5 based on over 1.7 million client reviews. As the largest online therapy provider in the world, BetterHelp can provide access to mental health professionals with a diverse variety of expertise. Talk it out with BetterHelp, our listeners get 10% off their first month at betterhelp.com timeout that's betterhelp.com timeout this episode is brought to you by State Farm Checking off the boxes on your to do list is a great feeling. And when it comes to checking off coverage, a State Farm agent can help you choose an option that's right for you. Whether you prefer talking in person, on the phone, or using the award winning app, it's it's nice knowing you have help finding coverage that best fits your needs. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. This episode is brought to you by Amazon Prime. From streaming to shopping, prime helps you get more out of your passions. So whether you're a fan of true crime or prefer a nail biting novel from time to time, with services like Prime Video, Amazon Music, and fast free delivery, prime makes it easy to get more out of whatever you're into or getting into. Visit Amazon.comprime to learn more.

[Rosenberg]

Thanks for listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg Podcast.

[Don Hahn]

I didn't listen to anything you just said.

[Rosenberg]

Catch the show on demand whenever you want. Just subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts.

[Don Hahn]

Game Time is brought to you by Tullimore Dew Irish Whiskey because when it's game time, it's it's Sunday time. It's tuna time.

[Rosenberg]

I like when he holds it.

[Don Hahn]

The Mets continue their series with the Phillies with coverage immediately following us right here on 880 at 6 30. And the Yankees and Nationals continue their series at the stadium at 7:05. Tullamore Dew the original triple distilled, triple blended and triple cast matured Irish whiskey. Be sure to grab a Tullamore Dew or try the new Tullamore Dew Honey during today's action. Glasses up to enjoying Tullamore. Do responsibly. Want to hit the phones.

[Rosenberg]

Yeah, let's go.

[Don Hahn]

1-800-919-3776. Let's go to Ted in the Truck. You're on ESPN, New York. What's up, Ted?

[Caller]

Hey, guys. How you doing?

[Don Hahn]

Good.

[Caller]

Hey, so I kind of feel bad for you that you guys have to talk about the Mets in these playoff scenarios because you're talking about Peterson going game one. Listen, I don't care who you play in the playoffs, you're not winning. The Mets aren't good. This is what happens when your front office doesn't value starting pitching and you go out and you sign a bunch of threes and fours who aren't good and rely on your bullpen to go five innings a night. You guys are going five innings max with starting pitching. Your bullpen is burnt out. I called this in April when they were all touting Clay Holmes on how, oh, he's the best pitcher of the spring. As a Yankee fan, it's hilarious. You guys spend nearly a billion dollars on Soto and don't get any pitching, but it's hilarious.

[Don Hahn]

But you have essentially the same record as the Yankees and you're in a garbage league.

[Caller]

Oh, listen, listen, listen. The Yankees have their own problems. I'm not.

[Don Hahn]

Right. So why don't you focus on their problems and go. And go suck an egg.

[Rosenberg]

Wait, wait.

[Don Hahn]

Did you come to your last sexual experience?

[Rosenberg]

Your fist?

[Don Hahn]

Let's go to Reggie. Staten Island. You're on espn, New York.

[Caller]

Hey, what's going on? Was it me said microphone night with that last guy?

[Don Hahn]

I mean, come on. But everybody's got their opinion on.

[Rosenberg]

Please tell me you didn't.

[Caller]

I want to talk about Sean. Mania.

[Rosenberg]

No, we didn't dump. No. God.

[Don Hahn]

Because I. Yeah, let's talk about Sean while I'm in the mood.

[Caller]

I was at the. I was at the game in Washington, and he was cruising. And then Hayden Sanger drops a third strike to lead on. Off the inning to have a leadoff runner. And then the very next play, Alonzo goes to second instead of getting the Shore out. And you have two guys on. He didn't do anything to have those two guys on. And then that led Washington into the game. So I think we have to have the sharpest defense out there. So I think Maniah is showing signs. We just got to help him out with the defense.

[Don Hahn]

I understand that, but Allen just gave you the last few outings. All right, that explains, you know, the outing against Washington, but it was five innings against Seattle, four innings against Milwaukee, five and two thirds against. Against Cleveland. Okay, A Little bit better. So I get what you're saying.

[Rosenberg]

He hasn't got you to a sixth inning yet this season.

[Don Hahn]

Before Ted got on my nerves. It's what we've been talking about is that they don't get length from their starters. So it's a problem. Except Peterson and Peterson and McLean. So that's been an issue. But that's why you can't have Senga be as bad as he was last night. And it's all celebratory because they scored 13 runs and they 13 unanswered runs and they won the game. But you also use five guys out of your bullpen. They all threw an inning, you know, and now you're probably going to have at least nine to 12 outs tonight and it just eventually is going to kind of catch up with you. And it's, it's, it's, it's certainly no way to live. But here they are, you know, a playoff team, right. And McClain came up and he went seven innings his last outing went almost six innings in his major league debut. So it feels like that maybe by the time we get to the playoffs they may have two starting pitchers that might be able to give you length. And once you get to the postseason, Allen, I don't care because you're always looking to pull your starter anyway first natural trouble, yes, you know, but to get through the rest of the regular season, it's going to be a bit of a problem. Let's go to Bobby in Bellmore. You're on ESPN New York.

[Caller]

Yeah, tell that guy Maniah has a 571er race since he's been returned. So I don't know how great he's pitching. But I want to talk about Tong. You mentioned sprout, but Tong has been dominating the Double A and Triple A. The last couple of starts he had like 17 strikeouts and 11 innings. Sprout his struggle. But look, look what happened with McClain. When I brought McClain, I think it lit a fire under Holmes ass because he was next to go to the ball bullpen the last couple of starts. He's pitched very well. So why don't you bring up time. I was talking to your producer. They're going to go to a six man rotation eventually, I think soon because they have a 16 game stretch. Then when they go back to the farming rotation, you know, if Manai pitches continues to push like manure. And the same thing with Senger. Okay, let tongue, you know, be maybe part of your playoff rotation, you don't know. And put Monet, I was looking at the standings right now. If the player start, they would play the Dodgers, okay. With Freeman and Ohtani. So you put Moneo in the bullpen as a long man and you don't make Senger even pick the postseason roster. And they play the Padres with their right hand in hand and they put Sengers along, man. Now I think that, I mean, you have to. Maybe that'll light a fire under Moneira and Sengle when they bring up Tom. The same thing McLean did for Holmes. Because it's more of a coincidence that Holmes started pitching better when McClain was broke.

[Rosenberg]

Keep in mind. Keep in mind that the rosters, the rosters will expand and the reason why, like Tong has just been brought up to Triple A, made a second start. So you're. What you're trying to do is ease that transition, get him a couple of AAA starts before you make that decision to bring him up to the majors. But there is a reason to do it, and we'll see if they make him part of the plan when they expand the roster.

[Don Hahn]

Remember, it's not like the old days where you expand and had 40 guys in the dugout.

[Rosenberg]

How many is it?

[Don Hahn]

It's only like two or three extra guys you're going to have.

[Rosenberg]

Well, they got to make big decisions, so.

[Don Hahn]

So you got to be careful who you call.

[Rosenberg]

They already lost montage. So you brought Brazabon up.

[Don Hahn]

Right.

[Rosenberg]

So there's no. There's nobody who else is down there that you would bring up that has the experience. Brazbahn, I think, was the guy that kept going back and forth.

[Don Hahn]

I was just saying that, like, there used to be, like, there'd be like 15 guys to bullpen back in the day, and then you could just. But they've got to be pretty selective on who they're going to have here. Even once the rosters expand, eventually the minor league season is going to be over and you're going to want these guys to get a chance to pitch right. But I don't know if a guy who just. Just got to AAA and all of a sudden throw him into big games in September and possibly be on the postseason roster. It's a lot to ask. McClain at least is going to have like five or six starts under his belt if he does go into the postseason.

[Rosenberg]

But there's one, though, like, I think the point that a lot of fans have been pushing lately is the fact that they have seen that Sproat and Tong have also pitched well along with McLean.

[Don Hahn]

Right.

[Rosenberg]

And that it was this feeling like, well, okay, he's done well. Let's look at somebody else now. You know how fans are. It's always about the next man up and it's usually about the young guys because they all want to see Tong. By the way, everybody is 22 years old. It's still really early in his career to make that quick of acceleration. But you can't argue with the fact that he's striking on everybody in the minors.

[Don Hahn]

Let's go to Mike on Long Island. You're on espn New York.

[Caller]

Hi. How's it going?

[Don Hahn]

Hey, man.

[Caller]

Good. So my big issue with the Mets pitching this rotation currently is that we're expecting something out of guys that are career long. That's who they are. Mania's last season outlier. Senga has shown it in bits and pieces. Holmes, the beginning of the year was great, but the Yankees moved him to the bullpen for a reason. But we keep running these guys out there with the expectation that we're going to catch lightning in a bottle with this pitching lap. It just doesn't work that way on this level.

[Rosenberg]

That's exactly what they're trying to do, though. It's. He's right. But Don, he's right. No, but this is a thing they're. It's a bit of an experiment. It worked last year to get them as far as they got and they're trying it again.

[Don Hahn]

But the alternative, Mike, and again, I used this example yesterday, is then, did you want to give Max freed 8 years at 31 years old the way the Yankees did?

[Caller]

So I go back and forth with that. I think it's crazy money to spend on a pitcher on the top end. I think it goes back to before Cohen and company were there with bad drafts, bad trades and not having a good farm system.

[Don Hahn]

In baseball.

[Rosenberg]

Yeah.

[Don Hahn]

Didn't they just rate? Yeah.

[Caller]

No. So it's turning around dramatically. But to win now, you're not going to win with this level of pitching on the major league level. It's just not going to happen. History shows that.

[Rosenberg]

Right.

[Don Hahn]

But there, and this is the frustrating thing, Mike, I don't disagree with you, but what Stearns would say is I'm trying to build for the long haul here. I've got McClain sprung sproat tong down the mile. They're eventually gonna be part of our rotation. That's three of a possible five starting pitchers. I signed Holmes to make him a starting pitcher. All right. It hasn't really worked out this year. Great. But the idea is that he'll be Stronger next year. Well, that's four guys and Senga's supposed to be my ace. So if I'm signing Max Freed to an eight year contract that's going to age poorly, One of the guys I just mentioned is now not a part of the rotation. And plus I'm spending a ton of money a year. So it's got, it's one end of the spectrum to the other. The Mets are playing it way out here, experimentation, not spending a lot of money on pitchers. And then there's way out here giving outrageous contract to pitchers. You'd like to find some happy medium. They have to develop their own and that's what they feel they've got now.

[Rosenberg]

Maybe that's what they're thinking. That's the only thing. Again, I'd love to talk to Stearns about this and just ask him that just straight up, like, is that like part of the plan is seeing, you know, we got some guys that we think, look, These guys are 24 and 22 years old. We're not talking about guys that are been in the minors a long time. So that could be a way to say, look, like tell the owner, even listen, these, we got a couple of guys, three of them, maybe two of them end up working out. But that's two starters that we're trying to develop and they're controllable so we're not spending a ton of money on them. And that's something we're hoping for. And if we go out and spend on starting pitching, that puts a ceiling, or at least it's a block now for these guys who, what spot are they taking?

[Don Hahn]

Yeah, and then you look at the money, you know, and don't not forget to these long term contracts. You see Wheeler and he's out for the year and how many guys go down with Tommy John surgery? So I understand where he's coming from. It's a great debate. Like I don't think you can come on and say the Mets are wrong. But I got to understand somebody like the last caller saying, I don't know if it's right because it might be the one reason why this team doesn't win a championship this year. But you hold on to these kids, you give them a place to grow. And maybe we do have what we didn't have with Generation K, which never really happened with Wheeler And Harvey and deGrom, where we end up getting three pitchers here that could be a part of this rotation for the next decade. And then you'll say to yourself, boy, if we went out and signed a bunch of pitchers for a lot of years. We'd end up having to trade these guys or not give them the opportunity when they needed to.

[Rosenberg]

This is the example you gave me yesterday when I was bringing this up to you and I asked you the question about it right away. The first thing you said to me was, you can't answer that question right now. You can answer two years, three years from now and look back and say, oh, that actually was the right plan to say it with. You told me to say this is a bad plan. It's premature.

[Don Hahn]

No, it is. Especially with Holmes, because fans will look and say the Holmes experiment didn't work. Well, I don't think it was meant to necessarily bear fruit immediately. The thing was, hey, I might be able to find a starting pitcher here that can become a really good one. And he's in the process of doing that. It just didn't bear fruit right away. But that's how fans are. It's the same. Fans say Soto was a mistake given a 15 year because, you know, because the first year may not be what you expected it to be. There's still 14 more after this, right? But fans don't think that way. They think in the now. 1-800-919-3776 talk about it Tuesday. That's at 4:30 enn at 6 don on the Rosenberg till 6:30. Then it's Mets baseball right here on ESPN New York.

[Rosenberg]

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[Don Hahn]

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[Rosenberg]

Rudders, race the sails.

[Don Hahn]

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[Caller]

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[Rosenberg]

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[Don Hahn]

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[Rosenberg]

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[Don Hahn]

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[Rosenberg]

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[Don Hahn]

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[Rosenberg]

Gatorade is it in you? Thanks for listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast.

[Don Hahn]

I didn't listen to anything.

[Rosenberg]

You just set Catch the show on demand whenever you want. Just subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts. We have next year's schedule already.

[Don Hahn]

Yeah, we're gonna go over later on because I, I big surprise.

[Rosenberg]

The Yankees are opening the season. Baseball just knows, honestly knows it's cash cow.

[Don Hahn]

There's. Listen, Hockey goes through it too, probably to a lesser extent, the NBA. There's only a handful of teams that move the needle. Like one of the things that they announced Major League Baseball is the Field of Dreams game next year.

[Rosenberg]

Yep.

[Don Hahn]

Is gonna be Phillies, Twins. Right. Not Phillies, Mets. Not Phillies, Braves. Not Yankees, Red Sox. When they did Yankee White Sox the first time, it was like, or at least it was kind of old school. And also the Field of Dreams, it was the White Sox and Shoeless Joe Jackson and all that. So there was a kind of a time. Yeah.

[Rosenberg]

And there were Yankee players there. But like, so right there, I'm with you.

[Don Hahn]

There's really, when you think about it, hockey, you want to move the needle. Original six. But two of the original six are in Canada. So really it's Rangers, Blackhawks, Bruins, Red.

[Rosenberg]

Wings, one of the four.

[Don Hahn]

Throw the flyers in when they're good.

[Rosenberg]

Yep. Good market.

[Don Hahn]

And that's kind of it from a like a team standpoint.

[Rosenberg]

Yep.

[Don Hahn]

Baseball's kind of same way. All right. Yankees, Mets, Phillies, Red Sox, Dodgers, Giants. Maybe if, if they're good.

[Rosenberg]

If they're good. Yeah. Well, Yankees, Giants, to open next season in March.

[Don Hahn]

Now you're starting to wind now. But you see like there's only maybe like five teams.

[Rosenberg]

You're running out of teams that really.

[Don Hahn]

Move the needle it's got to be the right market. It's got to be the right team. So, you know, football could pretty much throw anybody. And outside of Jacksonville or Carolina.

[Rosenberg]

Yeah. But they'll still usually give you like.

[Don Hahn]

And they're going to get a number like the NBA.

[Rosenberg]

The NBA season opens and it made me laugh because NBC is right. NBC getting.

[Don Hahn]

Who is the NBC.

[Rosenberg]

NBC's got the Open. Right. They've got the first.

[Don Hahn]

Oh, on football. Yeah.

[Rosenberg]

Baseball, Basketball. NBA.

[Don Hahn]

Oh, yeah. I don't know.

[Rosenberg]

What I saw though was opening night was two Western Conference games, four Western Conference teams, and they made sure LeBron and Steph Curry were on the. On the market. And it's. It's NBC's return to the NBA. And I thought for sure you were going to get Knicks, Celtics. Nope. And you Knicks, Cavs. The next espn. Their opening night, which is the next night, they've got the Knicks. So New York. It's really surprising that it just shows you though, that's what sells. The network wanted LeBron and Steph. Got to have them. And the defending champs.

[Don Hahn]

Well, that's the problem that the NBA is going through now is that it was never really about teams, about players. And the players are starting to dwindle here. Like you got LeBron and Curry. You're not going to have that very much long.

[Rosenberg]

I'm telling you, it's whatever reason and.

[Don Hahn]

I don't know why. Maybe you know better than me why Brunson doesn't move the needle outside New York. Guy's a star to me. But for some reason this is a.

[Rosenberg]

Big year at that level yet I'm going to tell you right now, Wemby.

[Don Hahn]

Might get there if the spurs ever get good.

[Rosenberg]

It's a. It's a big year. Speaking of big, we were just talking about it. Don. There's some breaking news here on the Mets side of things.

[Don Hahn]

Yeah.

[Rosenberg]

The athletic reporting that the Mets are promoting Jonah Tong. So he gets two starts in Triple A. And here he comes again. There's your answer there.

[Don Hahn]

I don't know the exact date. Anthony might be able to look it up because I was at the Patriot game. The Somerset Patriot game on Friday.

[Rosenberg]

Yep.

[Don Hahn]

And again, this is Double A, not Triple A. Yep. Their season ends September 5th. Like so it's probably only get it one start in AAA anyway. And then. And then the rosters expand and then they're right. Their. Their season is over. So it's only the difference of one start. And that. That tells you. Does Kodai Sanga get another start?

[Rosenberg]

Wow. Or do they find something wrong with him? So this, this was just a few about an hour or so ago. My good friend Peter Boddy wrote this for the Post.

[Don Hahn]

You wrote a book with him, didn't you?

[Rosenberg]

Yes, we did. Fish Sticks. It's a good read.

[Don Hahn]

If you love hockey so long ago. I might read it again.

[Rosenberg]

I mean, it's one of those truth is stranger than fiction type stories. And it's all true. David Stearns admitted Tuesday, which would be today, the Mets would be, quote, foolish fooling. Probably foolish not to consider promoting Jonah Tong and Brandon Sprout. Sprout for the playoff push, even in bullpen roles.

[Don Hahn]

Right. But I'm.

[Rosenberg]

I said he's not ready to commit to such moves. So he said, I'm not going to rule anything out. Now, this is Stern saying this on the Joel Sherman, John Heyman vehicle the.

[Don Hahn]

Show, but I think they have more use. I know the bullpen hasn't been great, but don't you want these guys starting games?

[Rosenberg]

Tong. Tong has registered 179 strikeouts. I said this. He was leading the minors in how.

[Don Hahn]

Many innings has he thrown?179 strikeouts, a.

[Rosenberg]

1.43 ERA in 113. 2.3innings in 22 starts spanning though Double A and then Triple A.

[Don Hahn]

Right.

[Rosenberg]

So it's not just.

[Don Hahn]

So he hasn't thrown a ton of innings.

[Rosenberg]

113, 2/3.

[Caller]

No.

[Don Hahn]

So it's not like I think he would be. I don't know whether his innings limit would be. But you're calling them up. I don't want these guys coming out of the bullpen. I want him starting games. Now, I'm saying that based off of what McLean gave them for two starts, I don't know, they might get shelled, not make it out of the first inning, and then it looks like a mistake. But the way they're starting pitching has gone. Wouldn't you want these guys to get starts, not come out of the bullpen?

[Rosenberg]

Yes, I agree.

[Don Hahn]

Especially came out of the bullpen in Syracuse and got racked.

[Rosenberg]

Yeah, he did. Yeah. But his, his ERA since he got moved to the AAA has not been good. Sprout's like a 4.50 ERA now.

[Don Hahn]

You're not getting innings out of these guys, most likely, probably. Although you did get seven out of McLean in his second start. Because they're kids.

[Rosenberg]

Well, I think it's pitch count more than it's innings.

[Don Hahn]

But I just, you know, the last caller mentioned, and I kind of rolled my eyes when he said it, but after thinking about it, I Think it's a good point about lighting a spark under some of these guys. It might not specifically to guys because I think they're trying their best, but I think it just creates a spark period. Whenever you bring kids and they play well, kind of fires up the veterans a little bit. Kind of just gets the fan base going. Like McLean's kind of gotten people excited when he's pitched. Absolutely. It came right at a time where the Mets weren't winning games. All of a sudden he comes up, pitches well.

[Rosenberg]

It just.

[Don Hahn]

It does kind of stir the pot a little bit. It does.

[Rosenberg]

Here's. So from. From that podcast appearance that Stearns did with Joel Sherman and John Heyman, starting with the sprout situation, that was not a shift to the bullpen that I think it may have gotten misinterpreted too much. He said, if you look at how we handle our Triple A starters throughout the year, periodically we do ask them the pitch in behind and opener, because that's something that we at times do in the big leagues. So coming out of the bullpen wasn't necessarily to be in the bullpen. It was because they used an opener and had him come in and pitch middle length and because we do that here and he. I guess they just wanted to get conditioned on doing that.

[Don Hahn]

But. But Mendoza and then Stern, because they've used.

[Rosenberg]

They used. Didn't. Did they not use openers last year in the playoffs?

[Don Hahn]

Well, against the Phillies.

[Rosenberg]

That's right. Well, because of the injury.

[Don Hahn]

No, he came up and just. He came back from the injury. He came back to one inning and then they went and went to the bullpen.

[Rosenberg]

Right. But that was the only time they used an opener in the playoffs.

[Don Hahn]

The only one I can think of.

[Rosenberg]

Yeah, I know. The Dodgers did.

[Don Hahn]

Well.

[Rosenberg]

The Dodgers had to. Yeah.

[Don Hahn]

Because they were so banged up.

[Rosenberg]

Right. So you could do it if you had to. And I guess so he's saying we're not moving him to the bullpen. We just did that. So.

[Don Hahn]

I know. But he didn't rule out the possibility of them coming out of the pen. Called up.

[Rosenberg]

He's not going to tell you everything.

[Don Hahn]

But, you know, that's true. Let's go to Spencer in Connecticut. You're on espn. New York. What's up, Spence?

[Caller]

Don Han. How are you guys doing?

[Rosenberg]

What's up?

[Caller]

Good. I just wanted to revisit with that last caller was talking about just a little bit in terms of the Mets trying to catch lightning in the bottle with the pitching rotation and everything. I feel like, you know, it was never going to be the strength of the team. But I, I do think though that Stearns had a set up in a way that was, you know, we were going to be solid throughout through the year if everybody performed to expectations. I don't think that the bar was set too high with like mania. He had the outlier season kind of last year, but that was due to like a tangible change in his mechanics, you know, lowering the arm slot.

[Don Hahn]

Right.

[Caller]

And the results showed it. So I think there was reason to believe that that would continue into this year. It wasn't just like he just had a great year, you know, out of nowhere.

[Rosenberg]

Right.

[Caller]

It was tangible change.

[Rosenberg]

Yes, he did make that adjustment and.

[Caller]

His arm's not starting to fall even lower now, which is causing him to leave stuff up in the zone and is part of the reason why he's getting hit so hard now. He's saying he has a chance and hopefully it starts with this start.

[Rosenberg]

Yeah, he, he was saying after the last start that there's a fatigue factor that he's been battling and it, it, it comes, you know like I guess fourth inning, second time through the order, whatever it is where he, he starts and he said I don't know why. So it's not mechanical.

[Don Hahn]

Right.

[Rosenberg]

And it's not physical as far as like injury. He's just hitting a wall and could that be Don? Like he's only been back for what he's making his ninth start, I think so he hasn't really been back. Is there just a little bit of an arm fatigue because he's been out for so long and got to build himself back up? Like those are the things I think you have to think about.

[Don Hahn]

It's official. Volpe back in the lineup for the Yankees against the Nationals tonight. We'll dive into that. Talk about A Tuesday at 4:30. And we say goodbye to one of the one hit wonders in sports. All happening right here on ESPN New York. Listen up. It's finally here. Futures day happening right now on FanDuel. It's 2424 hours of boosts, bonuses and bragging rights on your football season picks today only. All customers get an instant bonus on any football futures bet. If you want to do a straight up over on win totals for your favorite team, go for it. If your game is eight division winners, you can parlay that. If you want to copy my picks, awesome. Do that too. Whatever your game is, you choose how you want to play it today at FanDuel and make sure to check back in the app every three hours for special flash deals on football futures. So if you think you know what will go down this season, today's your day to prove it. Head on over to FanDuel to claim your Futures Day promos and lock in your picks 21 and over and physically present in New York for help with the gambling problem, call 8, 7, 7 and open Y or text openy467369.

[Rosenberg]

Thanks for listening to the Don Hahn and Rosenberg podcast. I don't want to know how the sausage is made, man. I just want to know. It's good. Here, more of Don Allen and Peter Weekday afternoon starting at 3 on 8 80, ESPN, the ESPN New York app and your smart speakers.

[Don Hahn]

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